Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-04-01
ALETTER FROM ARIZONA.

be Interested in its Perusal:
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, Feb. 20, 1887.
PROF. THos. f. BOYCE, Middlebury, VT.
Dear Friend Yours of Jan. % was
received in due time, and was read with
much interest. Idon't believe, Professor,
that have taken one trip out of Flagstaff
but that haye thought of you and wish
ed you along | tell you, this is an
awfully interesting country, and have
not in the least been disappointed in my
anticipations of it.
This portion of northern Arizona is a
timbered plateau averaging 5000 to 1000
| feet altitude. In winter it is covered with
three or four feet of snow, which as it
melts in spring feeds the streams of
southern Arizona with water to irrigate
their wide, rich valleys. But this winter
has been exceptionally mild until this
week and the weather favorable for the
prosecution of grading on the Mineral
Belt Within three or four DAYS it has
showed to a depth of three feet. But
this does not hinder the work as the
graders have now got through the worst
part of the work and have reached a level
stretch. or table, where all the grading
required is to ballast the track. SO the
work progresses, the right-of-way clear
ers ahead, then the snow-scrapers, tie
layers, track-layers and balasters.
My work is to run track-centers for
the men laying rails. ] find the same
! nrnnitlac in a I,r,1ox-se - 81
in .'.e Gurley's compass we had at the
seminary. The method we use in running
curves acquired much easier from having
knowledge of geometery and trgonom-
etry. shall never again laugh at that
wooden wheel we had for a level at the
seminary.
As regards the flora of this region,
have struck the country at the wrong
time to see the profusion of flowers which
are said to bloom in these parks of
northern Arizona. The only thing have
seen in bloom was a ''yaller' cactus in
a valley up towards the Grand canyon.
But have seen some fruit mere, viz :Oats.
potatoes and sunflowers. The potatoes
t and oats raised here are the largest and
finest | ever saw and the sunfower is the
only weed that grows where land is Guilt
,, waited.
, The rock here is limestone: but. as the
t mountains around are of volcanic forma-
} ton and much hot material fell upon
l the limestone. it has been burnt and
cracked until it is loose and very easily
! removed when encountered by the grad
| ers. The limestone is not fossiliferous,
: but is full of little goodies like the lime
=. stone in the seminary building.
= At the foot of the Sunset Crater is a
= lava bed in which can be seen the flow
y and waves as they cane down red-hot and
@ suddenly cooled. The top of the butte
t has peculiar glow, much resembling
e sunset, caused by the red lava on its sum-
nit. Down in the crater is a bed of near
. ly pure alum. The country to the south
: east of the crater is covered with Jet black
e cinders and it is curious that large pines
j grow right out of these cinders with no
i other soil that can be seen.
q But the Grand canyon of the Colorado
/ Is the place to study formations. There
n the layers and strata are all sliced open
h like jelly-cake and mile deep. The
), lower formation is granite, with alterna-
i tons of marble; then come red. purple
i pink, yellow and white sandstone lean
not write you anything that will do JUS
tice to the scenery Of that portion of the
Grand Canyon railroads. it is "unpaint-
able, unreliable and wholly indescrib-
a able. In your college library you have
{ ''Powells Exploration of the Colorado
A River of the West" Opposite page 1875 is
|. and illustration of the identical spot that
l. visited. Imagine that sort of country
e painted like colored jelly cake and you
n will picture in your mind what | saw in
l. reality.
:, The hills here are all rock and the valleys
are all soil, and these valleys are the
e prettiest natural country | ever saw.
o The cave-dwellings, eight miles north
east, are in volcanic butte and on its
= summit. The cave-dwellings remind me
T.. of what have read of the mound-build-
ers. but instead of an artificial mound
they found a natural one here and eXca-
waited their dwellings in it, summit. They
- piled the eXcavated material around the
V openings, making almost impregnable
e fortifications. have found much pretty
: pottery in the prairies or parks which
y surround the butte.
The cliti-dwelings, eight miles south
d east, are in a sandstone canyon 800 feet
IS deep with a width varying from 300 feet
Il at the top to 100 feet at the bottom
; Either these Aztecs or the water dug out
a. the layers of sandstone in the cliffs, but
he anyway it was humans" that partitioned
l. of the dwellings; for, tell you, Prof,
}. there are very few civilized beings to day